UK defence academy to ban Israelis over Gaza war: UK media

London: Israelis will be barred from enrolling at a prestigious government-run defence studies institute in London over the war in Gaza, UK media reported Monday.

The Royal College of Defence Studies, which is overseen by the defence ministry, will bar Israeli students from next year, according to The Times and Telegraph newspapers.

The post-graduate college part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom offers training for “strategic thinkers and leaders within the armed forces and civil service”, according to its website, with international students allowed to study specific courses.

A UK Ministry of Defence official in June confirmed to parliament that the college was providing “non-combat academic courses” to “fewer than five” members of the Israeli military.

The ministry did not immediately reply to an AFP request for comment.

But Amir Baram, the director general of Israel’s defence ministry who studied at the college, slammed the decision as a “discriminatory act” and “disloyalty to an ally at war”.

“Frankly, Israel’s exclusion is nothing less than an act of self-sabotage of British security,” Baram, also a senior Israeli army military official, reportedly wrote in a letter to the UK defence ministry.

Britain has suspended some arms export licences to Israel for weapons used in Gaza, but some UK-made parts, such as components for Israeli F-35 warplanes, were exempt.

Last week, Israeli officials were banned from attending a major arms fair in London as Prime Minister Keir Starmer tries to put some distance between his government and Israel’s war against Hamas.

However, 51 Israeli weapons companies still attended the show, including major arms manufacturer Elbit, prompting a pro-Palestinian protest outside the exhibition.

London has slammed Israel’s latest push to escalate its nearly two-year-long military offensive in Gaza as “wrong”.